My journey through the world of writing and everything that lies in between…

Posts tagged ‘third person POV’

I don’t really have much to post about today; I think my mind has gone into hibernation mode or something recently.

Anyway, I was wondering: which POV do you prefer to write in? First person or third person? I like third person myself. For some reason that’s what comes easiest to me. That’s probably why I’m really struggling with writing my current WiP since I’ve switched over to first person for it. I’ve tried it in third and it does work in some ways…but I think it’ll be stronger in first. That is, if I can learn how to write in first person.

I’m sure over time I’ll get the hang of it. For now, it’s a painful process trying to find that voice that doesn’t sound forced.

How do you learn to write in different viewpoints? Is it just practice, talent or a little bit of both? 🙂

Initially I was going to write Lady of the Snow in first person. I thought that would be the best way to write the book since it’s about her.

But recently I decided to see what third person would be like, since that’s what I write in most often, and I found I liked it. A lot.

With third person, I’d add a few other viewpoint characters–two in the first segment and two in the second (not counting the obvious one of Miyuki). I think I may have an easier time hitting the word count goal I’ve set for myself that way as well as having a few minor subplots. The first person one didn’t really give me all that much room to work with in the subplot area.

Anyway it’s still not a decision I’ve made for certain, but I know I’m more comfortable with writing in third person. Not that I should always stick with what’s comfortable but perhaps this will be best for the story.

I don’t know 😛 Guess I’ll write a few chapters in third and perhaps in first and then see which one fits best!

So, which POV do you employ most when writing? First or third person? Which do you prefer reading?

Critique went well last night. It didn’t take them long to critique my chapter; it only took from the time of ordering food and receiving it. So, I’m guessing that was maybe 10-15 minutes 🙂

They picked up on what I had thought; grammatical issues and even issues with too much description (which is odd because normally I’m critiqued for not enough :P) To be fair though, only one person said that, the other two said the description was fine because it was still her first day there (in her new home) and it helped to set the scene. One even said I needed just a bit more on describing the kabazaiku trade (art of fashioning things like tea cannisters and other small woodworks out of cherry bark).

Only one member said that it seemed we were seeing too much of Kaiyo and her guardian, Ryuji, verbally sparring. That may be true, though this was pretty much the last chapter of that as in the next three she avoids him (as a result of this recent argument) and attempts to leave. After that, she begins to change as she realizes the danger that she’s in. From this point she and Ryuji (also the love interest, as if one couldn’t tell :P) begin to see different aspects of one another’s personality. The love story is only a small part of this; I’m still not sure how it’s going to end with them, whether the story has them together or left open ended.

I now need to work on the next chapter, which is one with the antagonist. I’ve been told I need to make him more evil, which I’m trying to do, but it’s hard to show that as he’s in the process of searching for her and needs to put on his “best face” in order to gain the information needed. However, he is going to become quite cruel as he gets closer to the people who know Kaiyo.

Anyway, the ending I was planning is changing slightly again, this time because I’m deciding to cut out one POV. I initially had three: my MC Kaiyo, her father and the antagonist, Kaemon. However, Kaiyo’s father’s identity remains a mystery to her through much of the book (at least until part II) and I thought that by introducing him to the reader would negate the mysterious aspect and take away some of the suspense of who he actually is. It could change, but I’m thinking I will only have Kaiyo’s POV and Kaemon’s, the latter increasing as he gets closer to finding her and closer to Part II.

Gotta love how this novel is ALWAYS changing, from day to day, sometimes even hour to hour. 😛

It’s too bad I probably won’t have any time to work on it this weekend; friends from West Virginia are coming up for the weekend. I’m happy though because it’s been since Christmas since we’ve seen them and I’m looking forward to having a girls’ weekend while hubby has his “guy time” with my friend’s husband as they go up to our college alma mater in Mount Vernon. I think I’m going to see Slumdog Millionaire this weekend; I’ve heard good things about it and I love cultural movies.

Well, needless worrying from me yesterday, as only one other member showed up to my critique session 😛 We went over my chapter for a little while and then over my story as a whole. I received a great deal of insight and how to progress further. For one, I know for certain that I’m sticking with third person POV. I was told that I convey it very well. So no sense in messing that up by changing to first person.

I also figured that I am going to cut back a bit on the other viewpoints. It seems like the other characters’ stories are taking over (but it is the rough NaNo draft I’m reading…). There will still be four different viewpoints (My MC Kaiyo, her father, Iesada, the love interest, Ryuji and the villain, Kaemon). The other three will be shown only occassionally as it pertains to the story. It’ll probably take a great deal of adding/removing/changing as the book progresses, but at least I don’t have to worry about too much sidestory.

I’m still going to have to research the yakuza of the time…even though I don’t think they were called that just yet in 1890…and even though I’ve looked all over for books detailing this period, I only ever get a paragraph or a page at best. So that’s still a bit of an issue. BUT I managed to find this really nifty book about traditional Japanese furniture, so now I’m not completely in the dark about that.

So overall, my critique went well–I was told it was the best chapter written so far. So I KNOW I have it in me to write a compelling novel. Sometimes I struggle with the whole confidence thing–always have–but last night’s critique built it up considerably 🙂 I haven’t gotten any of the other critiques back, as they were all absent last night, so I have another week to wait before I see the varying opinions (as some are a lot harsher than others). Still, I know that at least one person likes it (and he tends to be one of the harder reviewers), so there’s something there…:P

I’ve been working diligently on my “new” outline for my book–the first person POV as opposed to the original third person POV. I still have quite a few plot holes and places where I’m having a great deal of writer’s block, but I’m thinking as I write it, it’s going to change some from the preliminary outline.

Now it’s not set in stone or anything–I haven’t written in first person in ages–so there’s a chance it may not flow right or convey the story in the right way and I may go back to third person. If that happens, I’ll have to fix everything a third time, because the current third person one confuses me (not a good sign if it confuses the author…).

Why the change in POV? Mainly because the book would simply be way too long for the third person and the three different viewpoints and stories that I’d have to develop and converge. I’m not doing away with third person entirely–in the first person version, I have every two-three chapters another character’s viewpoint to help flesh the story out a bit; however it won’t get as detailed as the other version; only the necessities will be covered.

Also, I wanted this story to be more about my main character than anything else, and the other viewpoint characters were taking away much of the focus on her.

Again, I’m not sure if this is going to work–not only can I not remember the last fictional story I wrote in first person, I’m afraid that the occasional third person view may confuse some readers and interrupt the flow. I guess I have to actually write it and see…